The present invention is related to vehicle door water shield barriers, which prevent the ingress of water, sound, dirt and air into the vehicle passenger compartment.
It is known that a door water shield provides a water, sound, dirt and air barrier between the inner door trim panel and the inner metal panel of a vehicle door. Water shield barriers are made of a broad range of materials including stamped sheet metal, injection molded rigid plastic, resilient foamed and non-foamed plastics. The barriers also may be combined with other acoustic materials to provide sound attenuation in the vehicle passenger compartment.
Although the current state of the art production of the door water shield varies from one manufacturer to another, typically all manufacturers use a flat or formed sheet of resilient material with a peripheral band of adhesive or foam gasket designed to seal the water shield barrier material to the inner sheet metal of a vehicle door. An assembly line worker mounts the water shield on the door inner surface. The adhesive is then pressed onto the surface manually using a hand and/or by use of a wiping device to insure that the adhesive is bonded to the door sheet metal. In some applications, a mechanical pressurized roller system is used to firmly press the adhesive into place. In other applications, the assembly line worker may apply adhesive from a dispenser directly to the vehicle door, and then proceed as above to apply the water shield barrier to the adhesive and pressing the two together.
An alternate assembly is known where the water shield barrier is essentially a flat sheet bonded to resilient sound absorbing material such as nonwoven fiber pads, initially attached to the interior side of a trim panel, and then the entire assembly is mounted to the trim panel. This method depends on consistent thickness, density and compressive resiliency of the nonwoven fiber pad to exert the proper force to self-seal the water shield to the door sheet metal.
Care must be taken during the shipping of the water shield to the vehicle assembly plant. The adhesive must be protected from adjacent surfaces so that errant sticking to the wrong surfaces is prevented. Most materials have a side that has a release coating to which the adhesive will not stick and a bond side to which the adhesive is applied. These parts can then be stacked together on top of each other in a shipping container without the need for an additional release liner. A thin sheet of a release liner may also be used to cover the adhesive during shipping. The release liner is removed just prior to assembly of the water shield on the metal door inner panel.
There is a constant need to improve vehicle assembly efficiency. This has led to the trend toward modularity in which more and more vehicle components are assembled into sub-assemblies, which are then installed in a vehicle as a single component. Thus, it would be desirable to improve the assembly of a door water shield to the vehicle door in a manner that improves assembly efficiency, and reduces assembly time, labor and cost.
The present invention is an apparatus and method for attaching a modular vehicle door water shield, premounted on an inner door trim panel assembly, to an inner door panel in a single step. The inventive apparatus is a particular shape of the water shield, a particular selection of resilient base sheet, and a particular selection of an adhesive or foam in place gasket that causes the modular water shield and the door trim panel to effectively seal water, wind, noise and dust when installed as a modular unit.
Specifically, the present invention is a vehicle door water shield apparatus, which is mountable on an inner door trim panel and joinable along with the inner door trim panel to the inner panel of a vehicle door. The door water shield includes a formed attachment surface integral with the overall water shield barrier, which is disposed in an interference position with the door inner panel when the inner door trim panel and the water shield are mounted on the inner panel of the vehicle door. A seal material, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive or a foamed in place gasket, is carried on the formed attachment surface for sealing of the water shield to the vehicle inner door panel.
The formed attachment surface is molded into a specially shaped section at or near the periphery of the water shield, which is deflectable under interference engagement with the door inner panel. The attachment surface can be a three-sided or inverted U shape deflectable surface within the periphery of the water shield and/or a cantilevered end on the periphery of the water shield.
In one aspect of the invention, the apparatus includes an inner door trim panel attachable to a vehicle inner door panel. A door water shield is attached to the inner door trim panel. An attachment surface is carried on the water shield and disposed in an interference position with a vehicle door inner panel when the inner door trim panel and the water shield are mounted on the door inner panel. A seal material is carried on the attachment surface for sealing attachment of the water shield to the door inner panel.
Another aspect of the invention is a method of manufacturing a vehicle door formed of joined inner and outer sheet metal panels and an inner trim panel mounted on the inner door sheet metal panel. The method includes the steps of:
forming the door water shield with an attachment surface disposed in interference position with the door inner panel when the door water shield and inner door trim panel module is attached to the door inner painted sheet panel;
applying a seal material on the attachment surface;
attaching the door water shield to the inner door trim panel to form a module; and
attaching the inner door trim panel and door water shield module to the door inner panel while simultaneously sealing the door water shield to the door inner panel through interference contact of the attachment surface of the door water shield with the door inner panel.
The present apparatus and method simplifies the assembly of vehicle doors by reducing assembly, labor time and associated cost due to the modular arrangement of the door water shield and inner door trim panel and the interference mounting of the adhesive on the attachment surface of the water shield on the door inner panel which automatically creates the pressing force necessary to securely seal the adhesive or gasket on the water shield to the door inner painted sheet metal panel at the same time the inner door trim panel itself is being attached to the door inner panel. This eliminates any separate mounting of the door water shield to the door inner panel as in previous vehicle door constructions.